How does the heart function as a pump Answer: How the heart works, and how it can cause sudden death In order to understand why sudden death can happen, it helps to understand how the heart works. Figure 1: How the heart functions electrically The heart's natural pacemaker – the SA node – sends out regular electrical impulses from the top chamber (the atrium) causing it to contract and pump blood into the bottom chamber (the ventricle). The electrical impulse is then conducted to the ventricles through a form of 'junction box' called the AV node. The impulse spreads into the ventricles, causing the muscle to contract and to pump out the blood. The blood from the right ventricle goes to the lungs, and the blood from the left ventricle goes to the body. The heart has four chambers – two at the top (the atria) and two at the bottom (the ventricles). The normal trigger for the heart to contract arises from the heart's natural pacemaker, the SA node, which is in th...
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